Crossing the Daintree River by ferry we feel as though we are now extras on the set of Jurassic Park. Here we are in the heart of the Wet Tropics and the roads are a narrow strip of tarmac through an impenatrable and inhospitable jungle where both flora and fauna can cause serious harm. Here the rainforest grows right down to the sea. Reading the explanations along the boardwalks we learnt the tropical rainforest ecosystem of the Daintree Rainforest is one of the most complex on Earth!
There are plants that are razor sharp and others that...

We left Alice springs and began a very long road trip of 1500 miles across desolate outback country to the northeast coast and the Australian rainforest. The most we could drive on any day was only 300 miles because of the challenging road conditions. Since there is only one paved road that runs north-south through the center of the country we had to backtrack our previous route for about 300 miles until we reached the only paved road that travels east-west across the country. Then it was approximately another 1200 miles until we reached...

October 8, 2017- Time to start moving. This morning we got up and set out to travel to the Tjapukai Cultural Center. This is a center dedicated to the Aboriginal peoples culture. WE watched a movie about the Aboriginal peoples and their development and struggles with white culture, then attended a couple of dance sessions,, then learned about the digiriedo, the atl-atl, and the boomerang. Fun stuff with some good history and an appreciation of the skill of the Aboriginal peoples. I threw the Atl-atl spear and the boomerang a couple of...

From My Molloy we headed to the Daintree to a camp spot we had heard about from fellow travellers, that was also on Wiki Camps. Koala Daintree was an eco resort in its hey day however had been closed for about 8 years (maybe a casualty of the GFC). Recent new owners have opened it to campers at very reasonable rates - $20/night for an unpowered site so we were not slugged more as a family. If you don't mind basic facilities and many leaking taps, then this is a perfect spot! It is right on the beach at Cape Kimberley surrounded by...

We decided that it was time to let someone else do the cooking.
There is an Eco Lodge in Daintree that went pear shaped a few years ago and was bought out by Chris Morris who set up a company called Computershare. Morris sold his company for an obscene amount of money and bought up Orpheus Island plus half of the Daintree village including the local pub and the Eco Lodge.
The restaurant at the resort is the only decent restaurant in the village so we decided to give it a go.
We had a really lovely night and the meal and service was second to...

Our fishing attempts to date had been a miserable failure so we thought we would tempt fate and have a trip on the Daintree.
We booked a trip with one of the local guides and spent half a day going down river and to our delight the day yielded 12 fish. They weren't big but they were legal.
We also spotted a sizeable 4 metre crocodile as he lay soaking up some sun.
Sue got the trophy for the day with the largest fish which was a nice Black Bream. She also lost her gear on a large Stingray and caught a couple of under sized fish just to...

We bade farewell to Cardwell and headed for the Daintree River.
The further North we go the greener the vegetation becomes. It is delightful seeing the rainforests and sugar-cane fields under cane.
Driving through Cairns brought back some memories of when we lived there 30+ years ago.
One of the really impressive sights was how much of our good tax dollars are being spent by the Government in Townsville and Cairns. Massive new buildings and one site we drove past in Cairns was over 1 kilometre of Army Base with its own golf course, running...

Monday 6th Jan
We decided that we would take a drive up the coast from Wonga so we could see a bit of the Daintree Rainforest. Also to check out a bit of the road from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown as this is unsealed and we are thinking of going to Cooktown along this road.
Before we left camp we had to do a bit of washing and get that on the line, so we left around 10:30. Just a 18kms up the road is the Daintree Village, which we went into to have a look. This is a very small town on the River with just a few shops and hotel and caravan...

13th October
Daintree national park
Up and out straight to Mossman gorge, from the car park there's a free bus right to the start of the trail. We walked it then paddled and played on rocks where I slipped and twisted my thumb funny. I haven't felt pain like if for years, luckily we had stron painkillers in the van so I filled up then had a lie down and I was ok. Am still having a good excuse to get out of some of the work however.
We then got the ferry over the river and into the national park. It's great driving here, there's just one...

North Queensland 8th–28th September
We left Sydney on 8th September, bound for tropical North Queensland. We arrived in Cairns, which is the main town and tourist hub to overcast skies and humid tropical rain.
We asked a local whether he thought it would be wise to visit the Great Barrier Reef in these conditions (we had a trip booked for the following day). “Postpone”, he said unless you fancy spending a few hours being sick over the side! We did.
Cairns was boring and touristy and the rain continued so we went to see The Dark Knight –...

Wednesday 24th – we spent the day trying to adjust to local time. Went shopping for groceries in a small shopping centre a few minutes drive away. Most prices were about twice what we would pay in Vancouver. We also both spent some time in the local internet café. That’s how you got your first email from us. The locals are very friendly and will chat away to you for ever!!
Thursday 25th we drove up to the Daintree Discovery Centre, which is owned and run by the people whose house we are staying in. They are currently vacationing in Europe....

Ah, another beautiful day in Cairns. It's about 82 degrees here but fortunately we are protected from the sun by the rainforest canopy. Today we are in Daintree rainforest and cape tripuation both are world heritage sites. On our way we motored to the a wild life sactuary were we had breakfest with the birds. We also saw a cassawary bird which is a prehistoric bird similar to the emu but more colorful and ancient looking. Once again we saw kanagaroos, crocs, wallaby, bats, and a lot of native birds. (Megan you would have hated it. Some one...